1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an inkjet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method of manufacturing an inkjet head by bonding a nozzle plate having nozzles to a plate having ink passage holes is known.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-205610 describes an inkjet head manufactured by this method. In this inkjet head, a nozzle plate having nozzles is stacked onto a plate having ink passage holes, and the each of ink passage holes is communicated with a uniquely corresponding nozzle. The plate having ink passage holes and the nozzle plate having nozzles are bonded by an adhesive.
In the above method, it is necessary to accurately align the plate having ink passage holes with the nozzle plate having nozzles before bonding them together. Since each of the ink passage holes and each of the nozzles are minute, it is difficult to accurately align the two plates.
Furthermore, the method that uses the adhesive to bond the plate having ink passage holes to the nozzle plate having nozzles generates a risk that the adhesive may flow into ink passage holes or nozzles. If the adhesive flows into the nozzle, it alters the nozzle diameter, thereby lowering a print quality. A nozzle may even become blocked by the adhesive. If the adhesive flows into the ink passage holes, it hinders the flow of ink inside the ink passage holes.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. H11-179900 discloses a technique that stacks a metal plate having ink passage holes and a metal nozzle plate having nozzles, and diffusion-bonds the metal plate having ink passage holes and the metal nozzle plate having nozzles by placing the stacked body inside a vacuum chamber and pressurizing the stacked body in the stacking direction at a high temperature. This manufacturing method can eliminate the problem of an adhesive flowing into the nozzles or ink passage holes.